Adames on move to Giants: 'They're making it feel like home'
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Willy Adames was the Giants’ biggest acquisition this past offseason as San Francisco begins a new era under the leadership of new president of baseball operations Buster Posey. The slugging shortstop inked a franchise-record seven-year, $182 million contract after hitting 87 home runs over the past three seasons with the Brewers.
Adames not only finds himself on a new team, but also in a new division. And he knows it’ll be a challenge for the Giants to get to their desired destination given the stiff competition in the National League West, which begins with the defending World Series champion Dodgers, San Francisco’s archrivals.
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“This division is way different than the NL Central,” Adames told MLB Network Radio on Friday. “This has to be the hardest division right now in baseball. So you’ve got to have good chemistry in the clubhouse to bring that to the field. Because when we play all these teams, we’ve got to compete. We’ve got to do the little things, we’ve got to take advantage of every little thing they give us.
“We’ve got to be smarter than them. We’ve got to take advantage of every situation of the game and we’re going to be fine -- not trying to just hit homers all the time; if we just try to be more situational and take advantage of that, I think we’re going to be fine.”
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Something Adames is looking forward to taking advantage of individually is the knowledge and experience of his new teammate on the left side of the infield, five-time Gold Glove Award-winning third baseman Matt Chapman.
Chapman, who won his fifth Gold Glove Award last year, had a bounce-back season at the plate for San Francisco, posting a .791 OPS with 27 home runs.
“I don’t have to worry about that side,” Adames said of the man who will be stationed to his right. “I’m just going to be picking his brain and learning from him and continuing to work. It’s just a blessing to have [him there].”
The Giants are hoping the left side of their infield will be a major part of a run that takes them into the postseason for the first time since 2021.
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